Are your bugs having a garden party? Valencia Spain.

Description:

Hello. The summer is here - it's hot and all we want to do is be on the beach or on a comfortable sun lounger by a beautiful swimming pool, drinking a nice cool beer with very pleasant company... But, we should not forget our "companions ", our plants, because the bugs and such like to have their own "garden party"! So we should take advantage of the cooler hours in the morning or evening and to see in what state we find our garden

5 MOST HARMFUL PESTS

1. Aphid - Toxoptera citricida (Kirkaldy)

All the garden is prone to its attack. It is a green, brown or black insect, which you normally find on the tenderest parts of the plant. The first unmistakable is the appearance of the ants around the plant, attracted by the molasses that secreted by the aphid. The leaves attacked by the parasite curl up, the plant loses its vigour and its good looks.
To combat it - Treatment with a systemic insecticide.

2. SCALE - (Parthenolecanium persicae (Fabricius) 

They can have a hard brown calcified shell or soft white one. You may see a kind of white or brown wart on the veins and the pits of the leaves. Like the aphid, ants are attracted by the molasses. Leaves look discolored and severely deformed. Normally it is accompanied by a dirty black fungus (as seen on bay leaves).
To combat it - the same as for the aphids.

3. RED SPIDER.

The leaves are filled with small dots of brown or yellow. They curl up and eventually fall off. Later the whole plant stops growing and flourishing, and becomes severely weakened. 

The Fight - regularly spray the plants with water on hot days (in hours without direct sun) - The red spider does not tolerate moisture and coolness. It is advisable to plan preventive treatments with insecticides.

4. AFRICAN BUTTERFLY.

They Attack all plants of the Pelargonium family. Strong smelling or the "French" geraniums are the most resistant. An unmistakable symptom is the sight of butterflies fluttering around the geraniums and the appearance of green worms; then you will see black holes in the stems and leaves with holes and curling. Then the plant stops flowering, the leaves go yellow and the plant wilts. 

To combat it - Never use cuttings from a plant that is infected. Do not soak the plants every day. You have to allow time to dry out before watering again, and treatment with insecticides.

5. OIDIUM. (Mildew)

You have OIDIUM or mildew, if the leaves have whitish spots, like flour or ash; if the leaves wrinkle and lose their colour. The fungus normally appears in sites with excessive moisture, shade and high temperatures. 

To combat it - install drip irrigation (to minimize wetting the plant leaves); avoid planting too closely together with poor ventilation. Use fungicide treatments periodically.

There we go, and may we all be ready for the party.

Very best wishes and see you in the autumn - Judite.

ARTICLE CONTRIBUTED BY LATHYRUS

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